Garama Garam Chole (Chick peas or Garbanzo Curry)

June 16th 2010

Chole or Chick peas can never ever go out of style. This versatile bean is a great source of protein and can be eaten as a sabzi or a snack or just plain once cooked. This makes a great addition to salads or even to raitas. And you can either go the old fashioned way and start from scratch - soaking the beans overnight and cooking it or pick the garbanzos that are cooked and readily available in cans ( just make sure you pick one that is low in sodium). 

Difficulty level : Easy 

Time:  40 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup garbanzo beans (soaked overnight) or 1 1/2 canned garbanzos 
• 2 to 2 1/2 onions chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• bay leaf (1-2 nos)
• cinnamon stick (1 nos)
• Cardamom (1-2 pods)
• garlic (2-3 cloves)
• salt (to taste)
• turmeric (a pinch)
• chilly powder (1-2 tsps)
• garam masala powder (2 tsps)
• dhaniya powder (2 tsps)
• coconut (1-2 tbsp)
• Saunf - Fennel (1 tbsp)
• oil
• ghee or butter ( 1 tbsp)
• cilantro (for garnish)

Method de Preparation

1. If you are using soaked garbanzos, cook them in the pressure cooker (allowing 3 whistles or equivalent) after soaking overnight. If using canned garbanzos you could still allow them to cook in the cooker for just 1 whistle to enhance softness.
2. All vegetables can be chopped coarsely as you will be grinding this to make the gravy.
3. Take oil in a pan, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom and garlic.
4. When slightly browning, add the onions and sauté till translucent or well cooked.
5. Add the chopped tomates and continue to saute.
6. Add a little bit of salt and turmeric.
7. Add the saunf and the coconut and sauté for a couple more minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Allow to cool and then blend slightly in the mixer. Don't make into a puree, but grind coarsely so you can still feel the texture of the vegetables.
9. In the same pan, add a spoon of butter or ghee and then add the powders (garam masala, dhaniya and chilly) and sauté till the raw smell goes away. Adding the powders this way instead of just into the gravy gives a cooked restaurant style flavor.
10. Add the ground paste and the cooked garbanzos and salt.
11. Allow everything to come together for a min or two.
12. Turn off heat and garnish with chopped cilantro.
13. Serve as it or squeeze lime and sprinkle chopped raw onions.

Chef's Tip:   You can skip the saunf and coconut and add some half/half in the end to give a creamy taste and an alternative version or to reduce the spice level.


Goes with: An easy alternate to making bhaturas from scratch is to use the Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits. Just spread them like you would do a roti and then fry in oil and your bhaturas are ready!